Kit: Sai no Kitsune
by BX3
Summary: Kit: Son of the Fox The village is in peace once again, with a new Kage and new, young shinobi, striving to become as great as the leaders before them. And among them is a single young man, with great potential and tenacity!
1. Prologue

**Decades ago, a Nine Tailed Fox suddenly appeared. Its tails lashed out, smashing mountains and sending tidal waves crashing through the shores. The ninja rose up to defend their villages. One shinobi faced the Nine-Tailed beast in mortal combat, sealing it into a human body…**

**…The body was that of a infant by the name… of Naruto. Throughout the following years, the boy faced prejudice, seclusion and hardship. His entire life was devoted to rising against these barriers, fighting to gain respect, to gain friendship and peace of mind. His goals were achieved when he himself rose to the rank of Kage, the very same rank as that of the shinobi that sacrificed his life to seal away the Nine Tailed Fox.**

**While engaging in a climactic battle, he met his untimely demise, sacrificing himself for his family, his friends, and his village, doing away with the beast that had so long plagued him…**

**… and now…**

**The village is in peace once again, with a new Kage and new, young shinobi, striving to become as great as the leaders before them. And among them is a single young man, with great potential and tenacity, that will face his own trails and tribulations. A young man that share the blood of an Uzumaki. Though Naruto has passed, his legacy will live on through this boy, a boy whom is known as….**

**…**

_(BAM, BAM, BAM)_

_(BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM)_

* * *

If you stumbling across this story for the first time, if you wish, read **Kit: The Beginning** first so that this story will be a smidge easier to follow.

If you wish not to or if you were a fan of **The Beginning**, I hope you enjoy the ride! First chapter to come Saturday!


	2. Enter Kit!

_"Yo! Well, here it is, chapter one of Kit: Sai no Kitsune. I hope you enjoy this story as much as I enjoy writing it!" _-BX3**

* * *

**

**Chapter 1**

**"Enter Kit"**

(BAM, BAM, BAM)

"Come ON, Kit!" A teenage girl rammed on a wooden door. Banging could be heard all around the house, as well as the girl's voice. "Wake Up! Your going to be Late!!"

"Kagetsu, if he hasn't heard you now he's not going to." said her mother, walking up to her and the door. She was drying her hands with a cloth.

The teenager gave a slight groan and continued knocking. "The little idget. He shouldn't stay up so late at night; he knows he's a hard sleeper. Wake UP Kit!"

"Oh, dear. You're not going to get any quieter are you?"

The teenager half ignored her mother, mumbling to herself. "Or maybe the little twerp's afraid of his last day at the Academy. Not showing up isn't going to make it any better Kit!"

"Y-you go on Kagetsu. I'll try to get him up."

"But mom…"

"If you stay here, you're going to be late for your shift. I insist!"

All of a sudden, the door opened. Light shone out of the room because the window curtains were up. In the doorway stood a little boy. He scratched his head and yawned at the two women standing outside his door. His fingers trailed through a mess of spiky navy blue hair, some of it tickling his somewhat large ears. A little more than half the size of his sister, he looked up at her, annoyed… well, one could assume he looked, but couldn't really tell, due to the fact that he spent most of the time with his eyes appearing to be closed.

"Could you keep it down, some people need their sleep…"

"Don't give me that careless attitude!" Said Kagetsu. "Or have you forgotten, today is a big day…"

The boy's eyed widened, revealing a deep shade of blue. Of course he hasn't forgotten. It was the day he'd been waiting for, but at the same time, the day he was dreading…

…

A bright morning, the sun shone on the streets of Konoha. Though it was early morning, there was a fair amount of activity. Shops were about getting ready to open and kids, big and small, were also finding their ways toward school.

Somewhere near a shrine, someone was doing his morning sweeping, making sure everything was on the up and up. A couple of people walked by his gate, waving. An older teenager and a young boy, Kagetsu and Kit.

"Good Morning, Nej-ojisan!" said the girl

The man looked up at the two waving youngsters. "If I've told you once, I've told you a million times to stop calling me that."

"Okay, see ya Nej-ojisan" Kagetsu chimed back.

"Keep it easy Ojisan…" said the boy dully.

The man just sighed and continued his sweeping.

"So kiddo…" Kagetsu said, speaking to her little brother "What's up? Why were you playing deaf this morning? Anything wrong?"

"I don't know why you're askin' that" the boy responded "Since when is it strange that a guy my age doesn't wanna go to school?"

"I never said it was strange, it's just seemed like you're trying to avoid the academy more and more. You do want to become a ninja, don't you?"

"Hmph, of course I do. Ninja are among the most highly respected people of Konoha, or just about any village."

"Then what's you're deal?"

He was silent for a moment, his eyes shut. He tilted his head up, as if looking at the sky.

"Onee-chan… do you think I'm any good?"

"Huh…?"

"I mean as a ninja. Am I any good?"

"So that's what this is about. You're afraid of the final exam?"

"No way! I'm not afraid!" Said Kitsune on the defensive "… It's just like… it seems like no matter how hard I train… I never get any better…We have no idea what Naharo-sensei is gonna spring on us for the final exam. When it comes to things like weapon technique or, y'know, physical stuff, I guess I'll be in the clear."

"But…?"

"Well, when it comes to charka molding and control, let's face it I suck. It's as if I never have enough."

"What are you talkin' about? You train your hardest every other day. I don't think you should worry."

"Oh c'mon. There's no need to bullshit me just 'cause you're my big sister!"

A fist landed on the boy's head.

"It's not becoming that a boy your age swears like that…" She said, softly pounding the top of his head over and over. "Besides…, we're here" She pointed at a nearby building. Kids, just around Kitsune's age were filling the building, its doors a light red. Atop of it stood a circled sign that read "Ninja Academy", and above that hung the official symbol of the Leaf Village.

"You'll be fine!" She said smiling. She gave him one last pound on the head and left, leaving him frowning.

…

"All right! Quiet everyone! Everyone find your seats!" A woman stood in front of her rambunctious class, calling them to attention "Find your seats everyone! I'll be giving you your final assignment in five minutes!"

Among the class, a boy sat tapping his fingers on the table. His hair shot up in different directions, one bang hanging in front of his face, blazing orange like a summer's setting sun.

He turned around and saw one of his friends walking into the room. "Kit!" He called waving "Yo Kit! Over here!"

Kit looked around to see where the voice was coming from. "Hey, Monatsu!" he said, spotting his friend.

"Sup, dude?"

"Hey, how's it going?" Kit slid into the bench next to Monatsu.

"Set for the exam? Today's the day we finally become ninja! Can't wait."

"Yeah… I guess."

"What's with you? You're not excited?"

"Of course he isn't" came a haughty voice from the bench below them. The boys looked down to see a girl looking up at them, smirking. Her eyes where a proud shade of green and, when paired with her black hair, added to her attitude and demeanor. At first glance, she was quite the pretty young girl, but anyone that spent time with her, who were familiar with those green daggers and were victim to her sharp tongue, knew that she was the take charge type of person who would never pass up an opportunity to display her superiority. And right now, those daggers were aiming at Kit himself.

"Why would he be? Considering the fact that he's probably not even gonna pass."

"Cram it Rozu!"

"Hmph, take it easy… it was just a harmless joke… with maybe a teensy bit of truth to it."

"Please! You're no better than anyone else in this classroom!"

The girl named Rozu scoffed at this. Kit sat back down and crossed his arms, knowing what he said was obviously a lie. She wasn't the perfect A student, but she certainly was above average, especially when paired with Kit himself.

"Anyway…" He continued "You should be worrying about yourself, not putting down others."

The girl rolled her eyes and faced forward.

"That girl… she really gets under my skin. Right Monatsu?"

"Hey, spites between you and your girlfriend are no business of mine."

Kit resisted the urge to punch his best friend in the mouth as the teacher called for attention one final time.

"Alright everyone" she said "I will now be giving you the final exam to determine whether or not you become genin. When I call your name, come to the classroom next door. The subject for the final exam will be…. Replication."

"Dude! That's all?" Monatsu whispered over to Kit "Aw man, this is gonna be a snap… uh, hey guy… are you okay."

"I'm fine…" mumbled Kit, slumping over his desk. He looked s if he just got hit with a sudden virus. 'Shit…" he though 'Replication? Great. I knew this was gonna be a bad day…'

…

"Okay, next student..." Kit heard his name. It was now his turn.

Kit stepped through the door. It was an empty room, like a type of office. On the far side of the room was a table, where two of the school's teachers sat. His own teacher, Naharo-sensei and another male teacher.

"Okay" the man spoke "Mr. Uzumaki. To pass your exam, you must create two perfect clones. Start when you're ready."

The boy gulped. _Okay_ He thought _I'm here, I may as well give this a give-go. Otherwise, I'd just be proving that baka-Rozu right. And I can't let onee-chan down, she believes in me…_

Kit gave himself two light slaps on the face. _Okay, focus Kit. You can do this._

He formed a handsign and concentrated hard. He could feel his charka circling around him. _No, not yet… it's not enough_ he thought. He kept increasing his chakra, slowly as to not lose a grip on it. _Not quite yet._

The two teachers looked on, watching the boy struggle. Naharo had a worried look on her face. _Kit…_

'"Grrr…mrrrrgh…NOW!" Kitsune let out a loud grunt and yelled "BUSHIN!!" and was engulfed in a cloud of smoke. The cloud began to disperse, revealing Kitsune as well as 2 boys to his left and to his right that looked exactly like him. Perfect clones.

Kitsune stood between the two clones panting.

"Okay, Kit." Said Naharo "That is all. Go back into the classroom and wait with the other students."

…

"Okay everyone. Thank you all for waiting patiently as we summed up the results from all of your exams." She paused for a bit. All of the students were completely quiet, waiting for their sensei to announce the results. "And I'm proud to say… that everyone in this classroom has passed!."

The class erupted into mixed murmers. Some were excited that this meant that they would be passing, some questioned whether they heard her right. Kit sat completely still, tuning out all the noises around him. He felt something hit him hard in the back.

"Didja hear that dude?" Asked Monatsu "Everyone passed! Everyone!"

_Yeah…_ thought Kit, remaining quiet _Everyone passed… even… me?_

"Now" called Naharo-sensei "Everyone get into a single file line to collect your headbands."

The students all got out of their seats and raced to be the first to get their headbands, well, all of them except for Kit, who was still frozen in thought.

After a while, the classroom was nearly empty. Naharo handed one of the last handbands to a leaving student and noticed that there was one left on the table. She looked up to see Kit, slowly walking towards her desk.

"Kitsune? Anything wrong?"

"Nah… it's nothing!" He chuckled, rubbing the back of his head "I'm just a little surprised that I passed."

The teacher handed the final headband to her chuckling student. Kit took it in his hand and stared at the symbol on the metal plate. A swirl with a point sticking out of the bottom left: The symbol of the Leaf Village. Kit felt a small twinge of guilt and looked up at his sensei.

"Are you kidding?" She said warmly "You've earned it!"

Kit looked up at his teacher's smiling face and back down at the headband. "Yeah…" he said "You're probably right."

Kit tore his eyes away from the headband in his hand and looked up anxiously as if suddenly realizing something important. Naharo noticed this.

"What's wrong, Kit? Is there a problem?"

"Uh, yeah" Kit said, scratching the back of his head. "With all this excitement, I suddenly have to take a piss." Kit said this a little too loudly, causing various chuckles and giggles all around the room.

"Oh… (sweat drop)… is that so."

"Excuse me!" The chuckles continued as Kit ran out of the room, headband in hand.

"Baka…" uttered Rozu, arms folded. "Hasn't he ever heard of the word 'modesty?'"

* * *

_"Next chapter to come next week! Look forward to it!" _-BX3


	3. Potential

_"Chapter 2 is up!"_ -BX3

* * *

**Chapter 2**

**"Potential"**

The sun was still up; it was mid afternoon. The grass was lit a bright yellow as the sun shown down on it. It was a vas, open plane, the wind making the tall grass brush against each other. There was a large blemish in the large, flat plane. The wind blew again, passing over a gaping hole in the ground. It looked like somewhat of an inverted sphere and was atleast 50 meters in diameter.

Staring down into the hole was a young boy, holding his Leaf Village headband. He brought it up to his face to look at it, observing the symbol on it. He thought back to the academy.

**Flashback**

Walking back from the restroom, Kit stared in awe at the metal plated band in his hand.

_So I'm a genin now _he thought. _Maybe Onee-chan was right. Maybe I was worrying too much._

"I'm still not comfortable with our decision with the Uzumaki boy."

Kit overheard a familiar voice coming from Naharo's classroom. _'Uzumaki boy?' Is he talking about me?_

Curiosity got the better of the boy as he ran toward the door, being careful not to be heard.

"I thought we were dropping this discussion. The test was to create two perfect clones. He did just that."

"Yes, I realize that."

After listening in for a while, Kit realized that the voice came from the tester that had reviewed him not too long ago. He was having a discussion with Naharo-sensei about Kit himself, and from how it sounded, it wasn't a very good one.

"However, that doesn't necessarily mean he should have passed. You saw how hard he was struggling up there. If he's not able to quickly and efficiently create a replication, how do you expect him to hold out in the real world?"

Silence… not a good sign. Kit lowered his head for a while, feeling low, however, it didn't last once Naharo chose to speak again.

"I expect him to do just fine." Naharo finally replied. "You should see him when he does his physical training. He is the hardest working student in the academy. He has incredible work ethic and a strong resolve."

"But even that isn't always enough. It's a hard, dangerous world out there when you're a shinobi, a world where someone like Kit may get himself killed in. I just don't want to risk that simply because you're playing favorites."

Kit jumped when he suddenly heard a loud bang. Naharo slammed a small stack of books down onto her desk.

"Playing favorites!?" Naharo said, quite boldly. "I have faith in Kit just like I have in any of my students. Kit may not have been the best of them, but he works far too hard for me, or anyone else, to ignore what he's capable of!"

The tester looked taken aback. "Naharo…"

"If worst comes to worst… I will take full responsibility for whatever happens to him… but for now… I trust him! I know he can do what it takes!"

**End Flashback**

Kit stared at his headband as he stood over the gaping hole in front of him.

_I'm glad you stood up for me sensei, but it may've been pointless _he thought _I mean, how am I s'pose to be a great ninja when I'm disabled chakra wise?_

He looked down into the crater-like hole and spoke into it. "Dad… what would you do?"

"Hey, what're you doing out here?" called a voice from behind him. Startled, he turned around to find his sister walking toward him.

"Oh… it's just you." Said Kit. "I could ask _you_ that. Aren't you on duty?

"Well that's _some_ response…" she happened to glance down at the headband in his hand. "Hmm? Is that… a ninja headband?"

"Yeah…. I passed."

His sister gave him a hard pat on the head. "See! I told you you had nothing to worry about kiddo!"

"Yeah, I guess."

Kagetsu looked down into the hole that lay before them. "So" she started, her tone serious. "What are you doing out here anyway? You usually don't come here unless you're thinking about something."

"Nothing. I just felt like comin' here, that's all." He said, arms folded behind his head.

The wind blew lightly as both of them stood silent.

"I passed…" Kit spoke up "But just barely… So I made a promise to myself, for sensei… I promised that I'd get stronger, and become a great ninja…"

His sister remained silent, hanging on to his every word.

"It's a promise I intend to keep, no joke. I… just don't know how I'm gonna do it."

"Because of your chakra problem?" She asked. Kit nodded his head in response.

"Hey kiddo, let me tell you something." She continued "I didn't really know much about dad… he died when I was very young. But I knew him long enough to know what type of man he was. Nej-ojisan would tell me stuff about him. He always said that he thought that dad was an outright failure. He was reckless and had no type of charka control whatsoever. He had no right or potential to become a ninja. This is what he thought atleast until he knocked the holey tar outta him."

"Yeah, and? Sounds like your typical underestimation of ability. The number one fault of a ninja. Neji-ossan just screwed up, probably."

"That's what _he_ thought, too…"

**Flashback**

Neji lay on the ground, beaten. Naruto walked slowly up to him, breathing heavily. His fingers were bloody and bruised, each of his nails cracked and chipped.

"I should've guessed" Neji breathed weakly "that you'd use those Kage Bushin. It must be your specialty after all. I was careless…"

Naruto breathed heavily for a while longer and said "For the record, I failed the graduation exams three times. Just because there was this one jutsu that was always on the exam, and it tripped me up every time. It was the one technique I just couldn't get.

…

It was the Kage Bushin no Jutsu."

Neji's eyes widened in a mixture of awe and disbelief.

"My clones were pathetic, and I flunked that damned test every time."

**End Flashback**

Kit stared at his sister with the same look of disbelief

"What's the matter?" She eyed him "Were you even listening?"

Kit snapped out of his trance and spoke, his eyes shut. "Come on, no way. I'm sure it was some old tale."

"Ojisan doesn't tell tales. Besides, Neji respected dad, but didn't really like him. In fact, the only reason that they talked to each other as much as they did was because of his marriage to mother. I doubt Nej-ojisan would start telling tales now, especially about dad."

"I guess so, but still. I mean, it's pretty hard to believe. Dad was the Hokage after all. He probably wasn't the best student in the world, but to fail the exams three times? It doesn't make sense if you ask me. I mean, if he failed 3 times, shouldn't he be older than Mom by a lot more?"

"It sounds strange, but Ojisan says it's true, and he's never lied to me yet. Besides, even if you don't believe that story, I'm sure you know enough about your family history to know of the past traditions of the Hyuuga Clan. Ojisan was bound by the limitations of his lower branch, yet he was still one of the best Genin of Konoha. He was even a Jounin before dad."

"Yeah, of course." Kit knew well. Though he didn't posses the Byakugan, he was still, by blood, a Hyuuga, so that kind of thing was constantly beaten into his head. "But Nee-chan, what exactly's the point'a what you're telling me?"

"Hmm… man, you really are slow." She sighed. Kit gave his big sister a look before she gave him a hard pat on his head, ruffling his hair. "What I'm trying to say is that Ojisan and Dad never let their physical difficulties get the best of them. They didn't use it as an excuse and they didn't sit around feeling sorry for themselves."

'_Sorry for themselves?' _Kit thought _Is that supposed to be some sort of shot at me?_

"They grew up and they pushed their limits and got stronger. You'll probably push yourself to death everyday and probably won't see a difference right away, but you'll grow and become stronger just like they did. After all, you have the strength of the Uzumaki and the heart the Hyuuga in your blood, doncha?"

"Well… if I'm supposed to grow, it would help if you didn't treat me like a little kid." He said, trying to remove her hand from his head.

Kagetsu immediately bounded his arm to him and put him in a light headlock with her other arm. "You're my little brother, and you'll always be, so I can treat you however I want. Okurimono!"

"Ha ha, okay, okay! I give, I give." Kit laughed, trying to struggle out of the headlock. He opened his eyes and happened to look down into the hole to see something shining in the dirt. "Wait, stop! Did you see something down there?"

"Hmm? 'Down there?'" She questioned, looking down into the large hole. There was nothing to be seen. The flash was gone just as quickly as it appeared. "Whaddya mean? I don't see anything."

Kit loosened himself from his sister's grip and walked closer to the edge of the hole and narrowed his eyes. "I could'a sworn I saw something shining…"

"Shining…? Like glass?"

"I think so. Something like tha..aa…AAAAAAAAA!!"

Kit suddenly lost his footing on the edge and went tumbling down, down into the large hole.

"KIT!!" screamed Kagetsu

Kit twisted and rolled, his vision a blur of brown, green and blue. He moved so fast, he couldn't even attempt to slow himself down. He just kept falling. Soon, he felt himself stop, slowly, but surely. Once his full motion had stopped, he rolled himself out of his uncomfortable position and onto his back, staring up at the blue sky. He lay still, but everything else seemed to be moving just fine. After his dizziness subsided, he stood up, shaking off the pain he felt in his arm.

He felt his arm and pulled back because of a sharp sting. "Oh, just great." He sighed, looking at his fingers. They were dotted with blood. Needless to say, there was a noticeable cut on his arm.

"Damn… I'm gonna have to get this bandaged up." He grumbled, attempting to ignore the pain. He looked around inside the huge crater and got an eerie feeling in his stomach. He didn't like where he was at all. As he recovered from his injury (as well as the creepiness of his surroundings) something caught the corner of his eye. Sure enough, it was that same gleam. It was half buried in the dirt, but the sun certainly made it visible from the right angle. He had a pretty hard time digging it up, but he eventually managed to tug it out.

The object was pretty dirty for one, but it did look like it was once quite beautiful. It was a light blue. Even when covered in filth, it was mesmerizing. It looked like still water in the form of diamond. Kit continued to stare into it, as though he was in a trance. There was something odd about this diamond.

It wasn't apparent, but it could be seen. Something red swirling around in the diamond.

Then, a flash, total white all around, then red. He was standing in front of large iron bars, nothing but total darkness behind them. "KIT!!" Something, a dark blood red, in the form of claws, grabbed him and completely consumed him. "KIT!!" Red engulfed his hands, his feet, his arms, his legs, his body, his entire being.

"KIT!!"

His sister's image stood before him, her light violet eyes filled with worry. "Kit!" She yelled, shaking him. "Are you okay?? Kit!"

"Gah! Cut it out. That hurts!" Kit awoke from his daze, slapping his sister's hand away from his bloody arm.

"Sorry…" She said, noticing the blood on her hand and rubbing her slapped arm. "Thank God. You had me worried, there. You spazzed out for like, 5 minutes…"

"Huh? Spazzed out?" Kit questioned. He did feel something strange for what felt like a second ago, but he couldn't remember what it was. He felt something poke his hand and remembered that he had the diamond clenched in his fists. He looked at his palm and frowned when he came to find it completely broken, shattered. The sun reflected off of each of the tiny shards that remained. 'Some diamond' he thought.

"C'mon, let's get that wound patched up, and then we can tell Mother the good news."

"O… okay."

…

"Order up! Here you are, three bowls." The woman behind the counter brought the three customers their bowls of Ramen. One was an average bowl, one was filled with all types of assorted toppings, and one was similar to the last, but a little smaller. The family of three got their chopsticks ready, a diamond-eyed young adult, a gentle faced mother and a black haired son. "Itadekimaaatsu!"

Kit and Kagetsu immediately dug into their food while their mother slowly sipped her noodles. She looked over at her children and smiled in amusement. Both of them were already half finished with their bowls._ Yes, you're definitely his_ _children alright_ she thought.

Kit noticed his mother and stopped eating long enough to speak. "What's the matter mom? Is there something on my face?"

"No, it's nothing." She said smiling.

"Okay." He mumbled, already getting back to his ramen.

_He has the attention span of a shriveled grape…_ Kagetsu thought with a grimace on her face.

Kit finished off the rest of the soup and yelled "More please!" Ayame took his bowl and made for making another one for him.

"Oh, wait! I almost forgot!" He said, digging around in his pockets. "Hey, hey, look! I told you I passed my exam, but I never showed you my headband." He brought it out and held it up for his mother to see. "See? I haven't had a chance to try it on yet, but I'll bet I'll look really awesome in it don't you think?"

"It certainly will." She answered. "By the way, why haven't you tried it on yet? I'm sure you were really excited when you first got it."

"Yeah, I guess you could say that."

* * *

_"Chapter 3 to arrive next Saturday!"_ -BX3


	4. Unlikely Team

_"The first 2 chapter that have been posted were "introductory" chapters, so to speak. Attempts at jamming a bunch of info into them. Because of that, they ended up incredibly long; about 2,300 words each. Starting now, the real story begins, therefore, the chapters will be shorter, 1,200 words on average. Sorry if that's a problem for some of you, but I'd rather have my chapters short and sweet than long and droning."_

p.s: _"As the story progresses, I'll be uploading short character biographies, paired with artwork of them. In fact, just yesterday Kit was posted. I'm doing this in the hopes to paint a vivid image of each character as the story is read. Go to my profile page and click on "Homepage" to go to my Dev page and give it a look see. I'll try to put one up every Friday."_ -BX3

* * *

**Chapter 3**

**"The Unlikely Team"**

The moon hung high in the air. All that could be heard was the rustling of the trees and the _hoo'_s of an owl hanging within them. A Poof sound broke the tranquility; the owl flew off, startled. Following the poof was the sound of heavy breathing. A young black haired boy stood in his backyard, sweating.

"Alright… I think I got it down…! Yes!" The boy raised his arms in the air and fell backwards in the grass. "I got it….(pant)… I've got this jutsu down packed!"

…

"I'm off!" cried Kit into his home.

"What? Already? W-wait!" His mother rushed to the door, carrying something in her hand.

"Aw, mom… I have to hurry up and get to the Academy! We're being assigned to sensei today."

"Hold your horses, son. I wanted to give this to you. I made it a while ago, and I think this will be great time to give it to you…" She revealed a small stone object. It looked some something like a swirl, attached to a sturdy black string.

"A… necklace…?"

"For luck. It's your father's symbol."

Kit took the necklace and stared at it. "His symbol…?"

"Yes. Son, your father was a strong man with strong resolve, and I see that in you." Hinata took her son's hand and held it in both of hers. "Whenever you're in a jam or feel like giving in… I want you to look at this symbol and think about your strength that you've inherited from him. I want you to look at this and keep going…. Do you understand, son?"

Hinata let go of Kit's hand, revealing the stone in his hand again. He enclosed it in his fist and looked his mother in the eye.

"Of course. And I will; you have my word. No joke!"

"Good." Hinata replied. She bent down to give Kit a kiss on the cheek. Kit immediately backed off, wiping his face frantically.

"Aww, c'mon, Mom! I'm a ninja now. Geez!" And with that, He turned around and ran off toward the academy, waving. "See ya Mom! Love ya! Bye!"

"Bye!" Hinata called, waving back. _He'll be great. _She thought_. I know he will. He's your son after all._

…

"Alright, everyone. Settle down! Settle down, please." Naharo was in front of her class, trying to bring them to attention. "Please everyone! Sit down, please!"

The class all found their seats and slowly quieted down.

"Alright! First off, I would like to congratulate all of you for graduating!"

A "WOOT" was heard before the class erupted in self applause and cheers.

"Alright, everyone, settle down." Naharo giggled "Now it is with a heavy heart that I announce that this is the very last time you will be in my class. I will miss you dearly and I hope that you all work hard and become great ninja. This is where your journey begins! Just because you no longer have homework to turn in doesn't mean you can goof off. Is that clea--r?"

"Hai! Naharo-sensei!" said the class in unison.

"I have great faith in you all…. Now, without further a due…" Naharo pulled out a sheet of paper. "I will place you in your squads. Each squad's sensei will call you out of the room eventually, so after I am done, you can use your time to get better acquainted. Now… Team 1!"

…

(tap, tap, taptap, tap)

"I can't friggin' believe this…" Kit growled, tapping a pencil impatiently on his desk.

"Geez… that's the 11th time you said that…" mumbled Rozu. "Just stop bitching, would you? You sound like such a baby."

"WHAT?!"

"You heard me." Rozu said smuggly. She smirked a bit, then her face became indifferent as she continued. "I'm not too happy about this arrangement either, but sitting here and complaining isn't gonna solve anything. Anyway, it's best you worry less about my being your teammate and more about your being able to keep up."

A tiny vein showed up on Kit's forehead. He jumped out of his seat, landed on a desk below and ran towards Rozu's end. He squatted down in front of her, squinted his eyes and stared at her.

"Let me tell you something." He said boldly. "This guy's gonna keep up and then some. I'm gonna be workin' _that_ much harder. No joke! You're gonna be eatin' my dust!"

"Fine, but for now, you might wanna… Get outta my face! Bakitsune!"

"Don't call me that! Hitai-san!"

"What'd you call me?!"

"_You heard me…!"_ Said Kit in a mocking voice.

"Uh, hey guys." Came a voice from the corner of the room. It was a boy with snow white hair and black eyes. He happened to be reading a book and was obviously disturbed by the pointless argument going on on the other side of the room. "Don't you think it's kind of dumb to be arguing like this? After all, we're a team now, so you're gonna be seeing a lot of each other from now on. Kinda defeats the purpose if you ask me."

"WELL, NOBODY ASKED YOU!!" They said in unison.

"Yeesh… sorry." The boy said, shrinking back. "Still, don't you guys think you should be a little more concerned about where our sensei is?"

Kit and Rozu's anger subsided.

"Yeah…" murmured Kit. "How long have we been in here?"

"It's been about 2 hours since Naharo-sensei called out our squads and the class cleared a bit over an hour ago." said Rozu.

As if on cue, the door slowly opened and a man peeked inside. He saw the three students in the room and let himself in. Their eye followed him as he walked sluggishly to the center of the room.

"Um… hey." Said Rozu. "Er, sir. Can we help you?"

The man's eyes caught where the voice came from. His eyes trailed from her to Kit, then from Kit to the boy in the corner.

"Hm…. So this is it, huh?" said the man. His voice came out with a monotonous tone of boredom.

"What's that 'spose to mean?" mumbled Kit, thoroughly confused.

"Beats me…" Rozu whispered back. "Um, excuse me, sir, but… who are you?"

"Hm?" The man stopped scanning the room and focused back on Rozu. "Oh, right." He sighed and started scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, I am Shikamaru Nara. I'll be you guys' sensei from now on."

Rozu, Kit and the White haired boy's mouths hung wide open.

"Na… na, NANI?!"

* * *

_"Next chapter to come Saturday, as always. Look forward to it!"_ -BX3


	5. Meet your new Sensei!

_"Chapter 4! Enjoy." _-BX3

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**"Meet Your New Sensei! The Genin Introduce Themselves!"**

A tiny bird flew down upon a stone tile. It picked at the ground a bit, thinking that it saw some food there, then eventually gave up. It took off again, flying past a very bored looking man. Before him, sitting on a bench, were his three students, Kit, Rozu and a white haired boy, whom at the time was reading his book.

Rozu stared back at her bored looking sensei, waiting for him to say something. Kit did the same, except for he was squinting to the point of appearing to have his eyes closed.

"Soooo…. Is this some kind of stare down…?" Questioned Shikamaru.

"Apparently." Said Rozu. "_We _showed up on time. _You_ dropped in, said 'hello' and did nothing else."

Shikamaru continued to stare a bit, then started to scratch the back of his head. "Yeah, you're right."

Large sweatdrops formed over Naruto and Rozu's heads.

_No way _Thought Kit.

_You're kidding me _Thought Rozu.

"Well, how about we start by introducing ourselves." droned Shikamaru. "I suppose it would be polite for me to start. My name's Shikamaru Nara from the Nara Clan. Some things I like are tranquility and plain fresh air. Some things I hate are noise, incompetence and being overworked."

"D'jya hear those first two Kit?" Sneered Rozu. Kit shot her a glance.

"When it comes to hobbies, if anything I'm good with a couple of games of Shogi or Go as long as my opponents aren't _too_ bad. I also like takin' naps or atleast relaxing and checkin' out the clouds." He dug in his ear as he continued. "Alright, I've spoken enough… now it's your turn. State your name, likes, hates, hobbies and goals. Ehh… you." he pointed at Kit. "You first."

"hmm, okay." said Kit. He stated his name. Shikamaru raised his eyebrows, showing the first sign of any emotion besides boredom since they'd met him.

"Uzumaki… huh?" He said "So you must be Hinata's boy. That's an interesting name you've got."

"Yeah…" Answered Kit. "My mom says my dad liked that name since before I was born, so she gave it to me in honor of him, since he bit it right before I was born. Anyway, I like instant ramen in a cup and I have kind of a thing for cinnamon rolls. But I _really _like the ramen I get at the Ichiraku Noodle Shop. I hate the 3-minute wait you have after you put water in the cup. My hobby usually consists of eating different kinds of cinnamon rolls and comparing them, but I can't eat too many of 'em cuz my mom says it makes me sluggish…"

_Geez, doesn't this guy think of anything besides food? _Thought Rozu.

"…My goal is to become one of th--…, no, _the _strongest ninja of the leaf. Stronger than my dad… or atleast what I hear of him. I promise to work my hardest until I've reached that goal. I'll do whatever it takes, no joke!"

"Pretty high goals you have there." said Shikamaru.

"I've always thought there was never a point in aiming low." He said matter-of-factly, crossing his arms and nodding his head. "Otherwise there's no point in training."

"mnnn… Not really my way of thinking. But you've got spunk, kid. Perhaps that could get you somewhere. What about you?" Shikamaru pointed at the boy with the book in his hand.

The boy snapped his book shut and looked up.

"My name's Irinoe. Irinoe Dolton."

"Hmm… that name's pretty obscure…"

"Heh, heh. I get that a lot."

"Yeah, _too_ obscure." Rozu spoke up. "I never really had a problem with it before, but seeing as how we're gonna be spending plenty of time together, how about I call you Iri-san?"

"Dude, don't just denounce the guy's name." Kit said.

"Don't call me 'dude.'" Rozu mumbled.

"Really, it's fine." Irinoe cut in. "A nick name's fine if it makes ya feel better."

"Okay, then, now that that's out of the way" said Shikamaru. "Could you continue your introduction"

"Yeah, sure. Well, I'm also a fan of peace and quiet. I like seeing different places, which is one of the reasons I wanted to become a ninja. I dislike inconsistency and disorder. My hobby is reading. I don't have any particular preference, just anything that looks good. My goal is to travel to as many places as I can while in my position as a ninja!"

"Interesting. Okay, last but not least is you." Shikamaru pointed to Rozu.

"I don't much feel like talking" Rozu said simply.

"(sigh)… c'mon, don't make this hard. A part of being in a squad is having trust in your squad members. And the first step to forming that trust in knowing a little about them. We might as well get it over with now."

"Hai, hai." Sighed Rozu. "Well, the name's Rozu. I do like chicken curry and sweet tea. I also like puzzle games, my favorite being Sudoku, I guess. I hate noisy people and idiots, ignorant people, monster egos and beef tongue. I don't have a particular hobby… and my goal is…" Rozu caught herself and gave Shikamaru a dirty look. "None of your damn business."

_What triggered **that**…? _Thought all three of the males.

"Well alright… I guess that means we're done here, so_ that_ means you're all dismissed." Shikamaru turned around to take his leave, but then stopped and looked back. "Oh, I expect all of you to be down at the training grounds at 6:00 a.m. _sharp_. So I suggest you all get your beauty sleep… you'll need it…."

And with that, he flashed out of sight, leaving the students pondering.

"So, what's you guys' first impression of 'im" said Kit.

"Not impressed." Answered Rozu.

"He definitely leaves much to be desired." Responded Irinoe. "Still… He seemed serious about us getting rest for tomorrow. Whaddyou guys think he has in store for us?"

"hmmm…"

…

"YAAAAAWWW" Shikamaru yawned loudly while he was looking up at the rising sun. His dreary eyes looked down at a pocket watch in his hand. It read 6:47. "hmm… okay then… I'm glad you all could make it on time." he said, closing up the watch.

"Yeah, which is more than we could say for you." said Rozu. "Where the hell where you?"

"ai, watch your mouth, will ya? Anyway, where I was is irrelevant. The point is that you guys are able to follow directions, which is something a ninja must always be able to do."

_Nice, dodging the question like that. _Thought Kit

"Alright… what's next?" Shikamaru took out the pocket watch once more. "Hmm… will 12:00 be enough?" he mumbled to himself. "Hmm… alright."

The students stared questioningly. Enough? For what? Shikamaru put the tiny watch back into his pocket and held up his hand, open palmed.

"Hn..?" went Irinoe. "Um… excuse me, sensei, but… what're you--?"

"5"

"Huh?"

"5 hours. You've got until noon to complete this training regiment. You guys are now officially Genin, now, but you're still wet-behind-the-ears punks as far as I'm concerned. So, in order to ensure that you guys are, in fact, ready for the world of ninja, I'm going to give you all a test of survival and combat."

"Okay" Kit said. "I get combat; it's not really something you can learn in a school, but why would we need to train in survival? We already studied all that stuff."

"Yes, you may have _studied_ it, but the art of putting pen to paper differs greatly from putting your knowledge to action. Learning how to count is pointless until you _know _how to apply it."

"Right… I get it."

"So you say we have 5 hours." said Rozu. "What's our objective in this training?"

Shikamaru took his open palm and pointed at his face. "You have to land a successful attack on my face."

"What…?"

"A punch, a kick, a head-butt, a cut with a kunai, shuriken, and so on and so forth. If any of you can land a blow in some way, shape or form on my face in the next 5 hours, then all of you will pass."

"And by the off chance that we don't?" asked Irinoe.

"Well the thing about wet-behind-the-ears punks is that you can't do anything with them. If you can't manage to land a single blow to my face by noon, then you guys are showing me that you're not fit to be ninja, and as a result…" Shikamaru to his pointed finger and directed it at the three Genin in front of him.

"…I send you back to the Ninja Academy."

* * *

_"To you readers out there, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you're wondering why I posted this on a Thurday, it is because I'm going out of town tomorrow and won't be here Saturday. I'm not sure when I'll be back, but it should be around a week long trip, so I may not have time to finish the next chapter by next Saturday. This means that **Kit: Sai no kitsune** will be taking a short break. Chapter 5 will be posted on the 16th. Until then!"_

p.s. _"Sorry, no character this week or next."_ -BX3


	6. Weeding them out!

_"Sorry this is showing up so late. Kinda forgot today was Saturday. ;;_

_Well, after a 2 week break, here is chapter 5 of **Kit: Sai no Kitsune"**_ -BX3

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**"Weeding Them Out! The Test With No Second Chances!"**

Kit, Rozu and Irinoe stared blankly at their sensei. They searched his face for any sign of a joke, a jest, something signifying that he may have been kidding even the slightest. Kit spoke up.

"Um.. Sensei, I don't think I heard right." he chuckled. "Could you repeat yourself for me, please?"

"Sure." said Shikamaru. "If you guys don't manage to land a successful attack on my face, you _all _go back to the Academy. Simple as that."

"Yeah, that's what I thought you said… heh, heh… ARE YOU OUTTA YOUR MIND!?" Kit blurted. "You… You've gotta be friggin' _kiddin'_ me!!"

"Yeah, he's right!" Rozu cut in. "We worked really hard to get here, and you're telling me that if we don't pass some test of yours we have to go back to The _Ninja Academy?!"_

"Yep." Shikamaru answered simply.

"B-but… y…you can't do that!"

"Actually, he can." Irinoe said grudgingly. "It's a rule that was set a couple years before we were born. In order to have squads run more smoothly and efficiently, a rule was passed giving a teacher complete control over whether Genin remain Genin or not. If a Genin at any point doesn't show the required potential of becoming a ninja, they can be sent back to The Academy to tighten up loose screws and attempt another year."

"Irinoe here is absolutely correct." Said Shikamaru. "In fact, not only are we given complete control over Genin being sent back, we're given the choice of _when_ we make the decision. Most people would wait and evaluate their Genin for a couple months, then make a decision if the student proves himself incapable. However, _this_ is the way _I_ do things." he pointed to his face once more. "If you can't land a measly strike on my face in 5 hours, not only are you showing that you're incapable of applying survival and combat, you're also proving to me that you're missing the point of being in a squad."

The Genin fell silent, none of them able to make a protest.

"Hm. C'mon guys, don't look so down. Surely you can land a hit on me at the end of 5 hours. This is a test of your evaluation. You have to see if you can find a wide enough opening to make your desired attack, or keep from getting attacked. Bluntly, it's just taking ninja 101 and applying it to the situ--…"

Just then, a kunai knife came flying directly at Shikamaru's face. Without even flinching, he caught the knife by the handle, the blade only inches away from the bridge of his nose. He looked up to find Kit with his arm extended and a look of disappointment on his face.

"The element of surprise…" Shikamaru said. "You're definitely thinking, kid, but there was one problem with that throw." Shikamaru put his finger into the handle of the knife and twirled it. "Fast enough to pierce the skin, perhaps even cut the muscle, but that's about it, and that's where you make your mistake!"

Shikamaru tossed the kunai in the air, caught it by the handle and launched it straight back at Kit. The knife whizzed by at an incredible speed, cutting Kit's cheek in the process. Kit grunted and grabbed his face as the blood started to flow.

Rozu and Irinoe gasped.

"Now you know where I stand." The three students looked up at their sensei, who looked dead serious. "You guys are ninja now" he said. "you're not playing with kid gloves. Come at me with the intent to kill, otherwise, this training is pointless."

They understood and nodded, saying "right" in unison.

"Alright then. Now that we all understand, let's begin!"

And with that, Shikamaru disappeared.

"Gah! Where'd he go??" exclaimed Kit.

"These grounds are surrounded by woods." Said Irinoe. "He's most likely hiding. Your face okay?"

"Yeah, the cut wasn't that deep; I can handle a little blood on my face, no joke. Still… that guy is _some _piece of work… jerk…"

"I say it serves you right." said Rozu. "You should have known better than to think you could cut him with a full frontal attack like that. And even then, you were holding back. Pretty sad."

"Who're you callin 'sad?!' Of course I was holding back! I didn't want to kill our sensei on the first day!"

"Hmph… you really feared that you would kill him?"

"What? Are you calling me weak or something?!"

"It's not about you being weak, Idiot!" Rozu snapped. "It's about this guy being a Jounin... They don't give that rank out to just any ninja. Did you see how he threw that kunai at you? I've never seen one throw _that _fast… and with such accuracy. He could have killed you if he wanted."

Kit felt the now wet cut on his cheek and thought about it. He cringed at the thought of what he might look like if that knife hit the center of his face.

"Well…" Irinoe said. "Standing around and talking about our sensei won't solve anything."

"What do you suggest?" asked Rozu.

"Well…" Irinoe pondered for a moment. Should they split up? No, that wouldn't work, surely, one of them wouldn't be enough to land a hit on him. Attacking him in a group? No, if they're all together, then their chances of finding him are nullified, not to mention the fact that they're on a time limit. Whatever they do, the odds were against them, so… "The best thing to do is to split up and find him separately. The chances of finding him will increase, and with any luck, with him running around, he'll be in for more than one fight. That should where him down enough for one of us to get a hit off of him."

"And if we can't?"

…

The three Genin were now near a small tree. Irinoe crouched down next to it, scratching something into it. He stood up and took a look at it at what he'd inscribed, a look of satisfaction on his face.

"失敗"

"Okay, we'll all split up and try to attack him. If one of us fails, we come back to this tree and wait for the others. After we regroup, we'll come up with a plan to use the remaining time to strike together at once. Unfortunately, I don't have a watch, so we'll have to guess how much time has passed."

Kit eyed the symbols on the tree, then squinted his lids, crossed his arms and cocked his head. "_'Failure,' _huh? Kinda harsh, doncha think?"

"Well that's exactly what this'll be if we can't hit him in time." said Rozu.

"Well, we all understand." Said Irinoe "Let's move out!"

"Right!"

The three Genin were gone in a flash.

* * *

_"New chapter and character bio to come next week. 'Til then!"_ -BX3


End file.
